Someone Wonderful

Chapter Two

Chris came over the next day because Max said he wanted to tell him something. They lounged around his room for a bit before Max got around to showing him the secret stash.

"So that's it?" Chris asked, not seeming particularly surprised.

"Yeah, I guess," Max shrugged, already tucking his makeup back into its designated desk drawer.

"Oh," Chris said. "I thought it was gonna be something serious."

"You don't think it's weird?"

"In this day in age?" Chris said with faux seriousness and Max rolled his eyes. Chris sat in Max's desk chair and did a spin. "You any good at it?"

Max paused, eyeing his best friend curiously. "Sure."

Chris didn't seem all that fazed by Max doing his makeup. Chris' watched Max work and made loud suggestive noises whenever Max started rubbing something on Chris' face. Made Max laugh too hard to do a decent job. Chris wasn't as feminine as Max. Jaw too square. Brow to stern. Felt wrong to cover his freckles but his eyes looked bright and sweet.

"Am I beautiful yet?" Chris asked, and they were facing each other, sitting on the floor in front of the mirror and Max thought about that kiss because it was hard not to when they were so close. Hard not to when he really loved this dumb idiot that was his best friend. Smothered the sudden rush of longing that he could just have Chris. It would be easy as breathing.

"Try to be realistic," Max said instead of voicing his violent swell of affection.

_

Meg invited Max to hang out with her and her friend Brook. The most Max had ever seen Meg text in one sitting was the paragraph she sent Max explaining that Brook was a precious human and Max should love her. Apparently, Brook was really into art makeup and Meg thought Max would like her. She had showed off Brook's Instagram like a proud mother and Max had hummed, impressed.

He didn't really know Brook that well. She was quiet. Blond and small. Nice but always in a book. Chris had had a crush on her back in middle school. Had tried passing her notes but she didn't notice the papers landing on her desk, too busy reading the books hidden on her lap, and the notes had ended up in the wastebasket.

Didn't know if he trusted her enough to show her that part of himself. He felt a little naked at the thought.

"Hey, Chris?" Max was speaking before he'd actively decided, and Chris jolted a little because the classroom was almost dead silent. The teacher sent a sharp look their way but Max ignored it as effectively as he was ignoring the assigned textbook questions. "Do you still like Brook?"

"Brook?" Chris repeated, face flushing a little. "I haven't even talked to her since grade nine."

"You didn't even really talk to her then," Max pointed out absently and Chris scowled at him. Jabbed him with the pointy end of the pencil and Max twisted away, almost knocked his books off his desk. Another warning look from the teacher went ignored.

"Shut up."

"Think she's still nice?" Max continued, and Chris frowned a little.

"I mean, probably," Chris said. "Can't imagine her being anything other than sweet. Why?"

"Meg asked if I wanted to hang out with her and Brook," Max said.

"Are we finally going to talk about your new bromance with Meg?" Chris asked.